The present invention relates generally to optical devices and relates more particularly to a high performance filter or interleaver for optical communications and the like.
Optical communication systems which utilize wavelength-division multiplexing (WDM) and dense wavelength-division multiplexing (DWDM) technologies are well known. According to both wavelength-division multiplexing and dense wavelength-division multiplexing, a plurality of different wavelengths of light, preferably infrared light, are transmitted via a single medium such as an optical fiber. Each wavelength corresponds to a separate channel and carries information generally independently with respect to the other channels. The plurality of wavelengths (and consequently the corresponding plurality of channels) are transmitted simultaneously without interference with one another, so as to substantially enhance the transmission bandwidth of the communication system. Thus, according to wavelength-division multiplexing and dense wavelength-division multiplexing technologies, a much greater amount of information can be transmitted than is possible utilizing a single wavelength optical communication system.
The individual channels of a wavelength-division multiplexed or dense wavelength-division multiplexed signal must be selected or separated from one another at a receiver in order to facilitate detection and demodulation thereof. This separation or demultiplexing process can be performed or assisted by an interleaver. A similar device facilitates multiplexing of the individual channels by a transmitter.
It is important that the interleaver separate the individual channels sufficiently so as to mitigate undesirable crosstalk therebetween. Crosstalk occurs when channels overlap, i.e., remain substantially unseparated, such that some portion of one or more non-selected channels remains in combination with a selected channel. As those skilled in the art will appreciate, such crosstalk interferes with the detection and/or demodulation process. Generally, the effects of crosstalk must be compensated for by undesirably increasing channel spacing and/or reducing the communication speed, so as to facilitate reliable detection/demodulation of the signal.
However, as channel usage inherently increases over time, the need for efficient utilization of available bandwidth becomes more important. Therefore, it is highly undesirable to increase channel spacing and/or to reduce communication speed in order to compensate for the effects of crosstalk. Moreover, it is generally desirable to decrease channel spacing and to increase communication speed so as to facilitate the communication of a greater quantity of information utilizing a given bandwidth.
Modern dense wavelength-division multiplexed (DWDM) optical communications and the like require that network systems offer an ever-increasing number of channel counts, thus mandating the use of a narrower channel spacing in order to accommodate the increasing number of channel counts. The optical interleaver, which multiplexes and demultiplexes optical channels with respect to the physical media, i.e., optical fiber, offers a potential upgrade path, so as to facilitate scalability in both channel spacing and number of channel counts in a manner which enhances the performance of optical communication networks.
As a multiplexer, an interleaver can combine two streams of optical signals, wherein one stream contains odd channels and the other stream contains even channels, into a single, more densely spaced optical signal stream. As a demultiplexer, an interleaver can separate a dense signal stream into two, wider spaced streams, wherein one stream contains the odd channels and the other stream contains the even channels. Thus, the interleaver offers scalability which allows contemporary communication technologies that perform well at wider channel spacing to address narrower, more bandwith efficient, channel spacings.
There are four basic types of interleavers suitable for multiplexing and demultiplexing optical signals. These include birefringent filters, thin-film dielectric devices, planar waveguides, and fiber-based devices. All of these contemporary interleaving technologies suffer from substantial limitations with respect to channel spacing, dispersion, insertion loss, channel isolation, temperature stability, cost, reliability and flexibility. For example, most commercially available interleavers provide only 100 GHz and 50 GHz channel spacings. Reduction of channel spacing to 25 GHz, 12.5 GHz and beyond appears to be difficult and challenging.
Thus, there is a need to provide an optical interleaver which can overcome or mitigate at least some of the above-mentioned limitations.
The present inventions specifically addresses and alleviates the abovementioned deficiencies associated with the prior art. More particularly, the present invention comprises an interleaver comprising an input polarization beam separation element, a birefringent filter assembly in optical communication with the input polarization beam separation element, and an output polarization beam separation/combination element assembly in optical communication with the birefringent filter assembly. The birefringent filter assembly comprises at least one birefringent filter stage. The input polarization beam separation element, the birefringent filter assembly, and the output polarization beam separation/combination element assembly are configured to minimize feedback to input source and transmission losses.
According to the present invention birefringent crystals, such as those commonly used in contemporary birefringent filters, are eliminated so as to mitigate at least some of the problems associated with prior art interleavers. Rather than using birefringent crystals, the interleaver of the present invention utilizes a device which provides optical paths having different optical path lengths for two orthogonally polarized light beams so as to provide a birefringent effect.
These, as well as other advantages of the present invention, will be more apparent from the following description and drawings. It is understood that changes in the specific structure shown and described may be made within the scope of the claims without departing from the spirit of the invention.